Overview

• Most park sites would remain accessible with skeleton crews as the National Park Service prepares to furlough much of its full-time workforce if funding lapses at midnight on Oct. 1.
• The Interior Department would tap recreation fees to support operations, a tactic the Government Accountability Office previously deemed unlawful during the 2018–2019 shutdown.
• The National Parks Conservation Association urged full closures during a shutdown, citing past damage and safety risks, and 40 former superintendents pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to keep visitors out without sufficient staff.
• Parks left accessible in the 2018–2019 lapse saw vandalized petroglyphs, cut Joshua trees, illegal off-roading, theft, overwhelmed rescues, and sanitation failures.
• Advocates warn that deep staffing cuts this year—about a 24% reduction in permanent NPS staff—compound wildfire and visitor-safety concerns if parks stay open with minimal personnel.